Star Gazing - the 100days project

Remember my star blocks from 2020? Well, let me introduce you to 'Star Gazing,' the finished quilt!

A quick recap: in 2020 I did a 100 days project, making a star block every day. I tried to keep them under 12", but otherwise didn't put any limits on size or shape for the blocks since I knew I wanted to put them together in a non-grid layout. The fabrics in the individual blocks all came from my stash - a fun way to really dig in and see what I had!

Some blocks have ties to specific days, or events, while others were chosen to showcase the star theme. It was fun to search for so many variations of  a star block, and I used a variety of techniques: hand applique, machine applique, reverse applique, fusible applique, raw edge applique, english paper piecing, foundation paper piecing, machine piecing. 

Assembly of the top required a lot of partial seams and quilt math. The filler/background fabric is a low volume star print; and of course the backing fabric and binding fabrics also are star prints to continue the theme. :)

The top sat for a little while as I decided how to quilt it, and so I could get this beast basted. To counter all the star points and angles, I quilted an all over, curved fan design with a variegated yellow thread. This type of design needed to be pre-marked, so I gathered some specific tools: EZ Circle Cut Ruler, Dritz purple marking pen & lots of patience!

From the bottom of the quilt, I marked about 8-10 rows of the largest fan curve. Then I free motion quilted across those markings. Once the initial marked rows were quilted, I continued to mark a couple rows at a time and quilt them. This created a foundation of quilting across the whole quilt. From here I was able to then mark the smaller, inner fan curves a row or two at a time before quilting. Rinse and repeat until the entire quilt was quilted. Whew!

While labor intensive and exacting, I'm really happy with how the quilting turned out, and how it looks on the quilt itself. It really shows up well on the backing too!

Binding is hand stitched to the back, and this quilt measures up at 86" x 86"! It's ready for snuggles which is good timing since it's getting chilly outside again. I enjoyed the process of this quilt a lot and would like to do another 100 days project in the future.

You can see all of the individual stars here or on Instagram with #bumblybs100days.